NHL Morning Papers (Thursday Edition): Ilya Kovalchuk not on the trade block, the Wild made a push for Sundin and Luongo may have suffered a setback

Here are the morning papers for Thursday the 11th of December:

• Brendan Morrison finally demonstrated why the Ducks went out and signed him this off-season, with a late third period goal to help Anaheim edge the Ducks 4-2.
• Don Waddell says Ilya Kovalchuk is not getting traded.  On the injury front, Erik Christensen (shoulder) is looking to return to the line-up next week.
• Washington netminder Brent Johnson was the difference last night, as the Bruins fell 3-1 to the Capitals at the Verizon Center.  Forget the power play, Marc Savard is producing terrific numbers at even strength this season.  Aaron Ward (ankle) did not suit up last night for Boston.
• Buffalo got off to a slow start last night against Tampa but turned it on once they were down 2-0 and ended up prevailing 4-2.  Meanwhile, Lindy Ruff wants to leave his team’s issues with the referees behind.
• Flames netminder Curtis McElhinney played well at Detroit last night according to the Flames players, but coach Mike Keenan thinks he could have been a little better.  Calgary blew a two-goal lead last night but did end up their very difficult road trip with a 2-1-1 record.  You could see the Flames were tired towards the end of last night’s game.
• Paul Maurice won’t let goaltender Cam Ward return to the bench until he’s 100%.
• Instead of using their high-powered offense, the Hawks decided to get defensive last night and defeated Ottawa 2-0.  Patrick Kane’s mom makes sure to tell him where he stands in the All-Star voting.
• Adrian Dater and Terry Frei talk about Joe Sakic’s snowblower injury in this morning’s Denver Post.  With Sakic on the mend, the pressure is on the Avalanche’s young players to pick up the slack.   There is something about the mindset of a professional athlete, writes Dave Krieger.
• The Blue Jackets will look to turn it around tonight versus Nashville after a tough West Coast road trip, writes Aaron Portzline.  With the economy tanking, the Blue Jackets could have some tough decisions to make in the next couple years.  Here are the Blue Jackets’ projected lines for tonight’s game.
• The Stars looked to be headed in the right direction before last night’s 5-3 loss to division rival Phoenix.  Off the ice, there has been no word on the Sean Avery situation.
• The Red Wings pulled off an impressive comeback at home versus Calgary on Wednesday.  Meantime, Wings forward Valtteri Filppula has been making a point of getting more shots on net.  The Wings’ lines did get some shuffling last night.
• Sam Gagner (suspected concussion) may be able to suit up tonight for the Oilers.  Dustin Penner has a knee issue but says he won’t miss any games because of it.  Edmonton only plays six road games between today and February 3rd, so as Robert Tychkowski says, this stretch will probably define their season.  Gilbert Brule has his life in perspective.
• Craig Anderson, who has been terrific in between the pipes for the Panthers this season, gets another start tonight.
• Apparently the Wild made a strong push for Mats Sundin but he doesn’t want to play in Minnesota.  Coach Jacques Lemaire wants more from James Sheppard.
• With injuries hitting the team hard, the Habs will definitely get to test their team depth, writes Pat Hickey.  Dave Stubbs tells us just how tough Mathieu Dandenault is.
• Consider the Predators a little skeptical of the NHL’s crackdown on dirty plays.  It looks like the Predators will be playing tonight’s game without Scott Nichol or Jordin Tootoo.
• The Devils are rolling, evidenced by their 4-1 victory last night over the Penguins, and are getting geared up for tomorrow’s tilt versus NYR.
• Rick DiPietro is expected to return to the Islanders line-up by Christmas, writes Katie Strang.
• The Rangers will sit down with Mats Sundin when he visits the Big Apple for Poker Stars this weekend.  On the ice, the Rangers beat Atlanta in overtime last night.  The Rangers responded well on Wednesday, after a players-only meeting a few days before.
• Martin Gerber gave the Senators a chance to win last night but they just couldn’t score, writes Don Brennan.  Here are some other news and notes surrounding the Hawks/Senators game.
• Simon Gagne thinks a players-only meeting turned the Flyers’ season around.  Matt Carle (ribs) does not feel any improvement after missing the last four games.
• In Phoenix, Joakim Lindstrom is just happy to be in the NHL.
• The Penguins didn’t lack effort last night, they just lost, writes Dave Molinari.  Five of the six defensemen who played for Pittsburgh on Wednesday were born in the States.
• This year’s version of the Sharks has no ego.  It is unlikely that Jonathan Cheechoo will return to the Sharks line-up tonight.
• The Blues lost Manny Legace to a head injury and then they lost the game to Anaheim yesterday, writes Jeremy Rutherford.
• Gary Shelton tells Barry Melrose to shut up.  Steve Stamkos, for one, wasn’t fazed by Melrose’s comments.  In other news, the Bolts lost again last night.
• Coach Ron Wilson wont let Leafs defensemen Mike Van Ryn and Jonas Frogren return too early from injury.  The Leafs players were tired, so they really appreciated getting the day off on Tuesday.
• Did Roberto Luongo suffer a setback at practice on Wednesday?
• Jose who? Brent Johnson continued his terrific play for the Capitals on Wednesday.

For Illegal Curve, I’m Richard Pollock.